Hera Prime: Breaking Dawn
by JML Ranch
Summary: A young lady and her horse gets tangled with a war that has been raging for many eons. Little does she know what's in store for her... [First book in my "Hera Prime" series. For the most part, the story is based off the Transformers: Prime television series. I own the scenes that do not appear in the show.]
1. Chapter 1

**Woot! Been busy typing up the story! Right now, I have over 15,000 words in Word for the full story. O.o And it's only going to keep climbing!**

* * *

**JML Ranch:** Hey! How did y'all end up in my room with me and OP?  
**Ratchet:** I have no fragging idea! You tell me! And how in the Pit are we the size of humans?!  
**JML Ranch:** Well, excuse me. Grumpy much?  
**Ratchet:** *glares at me* *unsubspaces a wrench and tosses it at me*  
**JML Ranch:** *yells and dives for the floor* *wrench whizzes harmlessly by* Whew! That was way too close for me!  
**Optimus Prime:** Ratchet! We do not harm humans, even if we are their size now.  
**JML Ranch:** *gets up and brushes off* Better listen to your boss, Ratchet. *sits back down in my chair*  
**Optimus:** *walks up behind me* What are you doing? *slides servos around my waist and rests his chin on my shoulder*  
**JML Ranch:** Working on this story about Transformers: Prime. It's a cartoon series I recently discovered.  
**Optimus:** I thought there was only Bayverse?  
**JML Ranch:** *leans head back against Optimus and puts both arms on top of his servos* Nope. There's quite a few versions of y'all.  
**Ironhide:** Huh. So the fleshies actually came up with different versions of us?  
**JML Ranch:** Yep. Can you do me a big favor, and do the disclaimer for me? Feel free to display your cannons.  
**Ironhide:** *transforms both arms into cannons and charges them* JML Ranch does **_not_** own a slagging thing about Transformers. Hasbro does. The only slagging thing she owns is some of the plot and her two OCs', Julia Lovett (known as Hera after this chapter) and Thunder (known as Aniketos after this chapter as well). *powers down cannons* Did I cover everything?  
**JML Ranch:** Yes. Your cannons are awesome by the way. They look badass.  
**Ironhide:** Thanks. *grins smugly*  
**JML Ranch:** You're very welcome. *turns around partway in Optimus' servos and looks at him* Hey there. *reaches up and wrap arms around his neck*  
**Optimus:** Hey there beautiful. *leans in for kiss*  
**Ratchet:** *looks at Optimus and me kissing* Ugh. I never did understand why that mech is interested in that human femme.  
**Ironhide:** *slaps Ratchet on back of helm* Shut up. Personally, I'm glad they're dating. Anyways, while those two are...ahem..._distracted_, here's Chapter 1!

* * *

:Comm link:  
**_Sibling_ _bond_**  
_"Primus speaking"  
_"Normal speech"  
_Thoughts_

* * *

I was riding my horse, Thunder, along a lakeshore in the moonlight. The full moon gave off enough light for me to see perfectly fine. The woods seemed to be very quiet tonight. I marveled at the beauty of the landscape. It was so calm and serene. Thunder was content to walk along slowly, but on alert for anything that could cause harm to us. We had been on the run for the last three years. Something attacked my family, and I had to flee on Thunder. I do not know if my parents are still alive or not. I just prayed and hoped that they were alive. I had no idea which state we were in, or what day it was. I could tell it was summer, but nothing more than that.

_"Be careful, my child, for there is a battle near you and it is headed your way,"_ Primus spoke to me. I have been hearing him in my head since I was five, and that was 20 years ago. He has told me about what happened to his planet- Cybertron- and all about the war that has been going on for many eons, along with various other things.

"A battle? I hope it's not those Decepticreeps…" I answered out loud.

_"I am sorry my child, but it is indeed the Decepticons. Soon, you will have to take part of the war. I did not want this to happen, but even I cannot control fate. All I can do is warn you of what will happen."_

"I understand. I do not like war either, but if I must do my part, I am very willing to do what I can to help end this perpetual war."

_"You are willing to do what you can to end the war? Even if it is at the cost of your life?"_

"Yes I am. If I must give up my life, so be it. At least I know I died fighting for freedom. After all, freedom is the right of all living beings, whether they are of this world or not."

_"Very well. Do you recall the story I told you about the Original 13 Primes?"_

"Yes I do."

_"You will be the second Female Prime. Your horse, Thunder, will be your Guardian. I will let you know when it is time for you to make the change to Cybertronian. Your name will be given to you when that time comes, and that time is approaching rapidly. You must hide now, because the battle is getting closer."_

"Scrap," I muttered as I heard the sounds of metal hitting metal grow closer to me. Spinning Thunder around, I urged him to run like his life depended on it. We thundered along the shoreline, a blur of black and dark grey racing towards a cave I knew about. Finally, after what felt like eons, we arrived at the mouth of the cave. I climbed out of the saddle and started to walk into the cave.

_"I see you have found a suitable location for the change,"_ Primus spoke again. I fell asleep and woke up in another dimension, one that I was very familiar with. I saw Thunder next to me, and Primus standing before us.

"Hello Primus. I trust all is well with you?"

_"Yes, all is well for me. Are you sure you want this?"_

"I am sure. If this is what I must do, then I will do what is required of me."

_"Thunder?"_

"I go wherever she goes. She is my adopted sister."

_"Very well. Julia Megan Lovett, your name is now Hera Prime, for you will be a fearless warrior and leader. What colors would you like?"_

"Midnight blue with light blue flames."

_"Elantric Thunder, your name is now Aniketos, which means unconquerable, for you will never be defeated by any Decepticon. What colors would you like?"_

"I would like to keep my current color and pattern I have right now."

_"I will show you two what your Cybertronian form will look like. Hera, you will be as tall as Optimus Prime, who is the Last of the Primes. Well, not anymore now, heh. Your build will be less bulky, but you will be stronger than him and nearly indestructible. Aniketos, your build will be similar to your current one right now, except you will be completely indestructible. Nothing will be able to harm you. Both of your current forms can be used as an alternate mode. You will be able to select 3 more alternate modes. Do you two know what modes you want? If not, you can scan one later."_

"Does the alternate mode size matter?" I asked.

_"Normally, it would but not in this case. I have given you the freedom to choose any size alternate mode. You also have the option of changing them to a different one."_

"Well… I know I would like a F-15 Eagle fighter jet, a 2014 Bugatti Veyron Super Sport, and a 1992 Dodge Dakota pickup truck with AWD. What about you, 'Ketos?" I replied.

"I would like the same jet and truck as her. For my third mode, I would like a 2014 Yamaha YZF-R1 motorcycle."

_"Very well. Hera, you will also have the Matrix of Leadership. Normally, there is only one of those. But I have the power to create as many as I see fit. Optimus carries the Original Matrix of Leadership. The fighting is getting close to the cave. You two must help Optimus as soon as I send you back. You will both be in your Cybertronian modes. I wish you two the best of luck."_

"And the same to you. Until all are one," I said, putting my hand over my heart/spark.

_"Until all are one."_

I felt myself fall back into the darkness, then a few minutes later I woke up with a soft groan. Slowly sitting up, I looked down and saw that I was now Cybertronian. The sounds of metal hitting metal caught my attention.

"Aniketos! We need to get moving now!" I ordered as I rose to my feet/pedes. Aniketos scrambled up to his hooves, his battle mask covering most of his head. I saw that there was a saddle already on his back, and I swung up into the saddle. My battle mask slid down across my face, leaving my eyes unobstructed. As Aniketos started to walk forward, I looked down at my left arm and thought about a gun. My arm/servo transformed into a gun.

"I need you to keep your head down, I don't want to hit you on accident," I whispered to Ketos. Suddenly, I saw a red and blue Cybertronian mech appear at the entrance, and he ran in.

_"That is Optimus Prime,"_ Primus whispered to me in my mind. _"The other one is the leader of the Decepticons, and he is called Megatron."_

I saw Megatron enter the cave, and boy was he ugly! _I'll just call him Ugly, King of the Decepticreeps from now on,_ I thought sarcastically to myself. _Here we go._

I let out a deep, roaring battle cry as Ketos charged forward. Both mechs froze for a second, having heard me.

"OPTIMUS! GET DOWN NOW!" I ordered, as we got closer. Optimus dove to the side, leaving Megatron standing in the way. Raising my left arm, I fired off several shots as we barreled down on him. Ketos rammed the Decepticreep leader hard with his shoulder, causing Ugly to fall to the ground and getting stepped on. I pulled on the reins lightly. Ketos stopped deep and hard, then turned around and was charging again right as Ugly got to his pedes. This time, Ugly dove to one side and tried to stab Aniketos. His blade shattered on impact, leaving him with nothing but a stub.

"What the frag?!" he bellowed as he fled the cave, clearly scared. I smirked under my battle mask at the fact that Ugly was now afraid of Aniketos and me.

"Who are you?" Optimus demanded as he aimed his guns at me.

"Whoa, easy there big guy! I do not have any intentions of harming you. As for my name, I am Hera Prime," I answered, holding my hands up in a clear sign of surrender.

"Another Prime? You had better not be trying to deceive me," he growled.

"I am not trying to deceive you. I carry the second Matrix of Leadership. I know you have the Original one."

"Show me."

I opened up my chest plates just enough for the Matrix to float out. The Matrix hovered in the air above my hands.

"By the All Spark… I never dreamed that there would actually be another Matrix of Leadership. It was mostly legend, or so I thought."

"Life is full of surprises. By the way, this is Aniketos," I replied, gesturing to Ketos as the Matrix floated back into my chest.

"Hello Optimus. Are you alright?" Ketos asked as his battle mask retracted.

"I think so. I'll have to get checked out by the medic back on base. I'll comm someone for a ground bridge," Optimus pressed the comm link. "Optimus here. I need a ground bridge now. Also, I am bringing two guests with me."

A bright green portal swirled to life in front of us. I was looking at the bridge in awe. _That's so cool,_ I thought to myself. We all walked into the portal, and a few seconds later we were walking out the other end into a building.

"Ugh… I feel sick now," I groaned, clutching my head/helm and closing my eyes. Ketos gently nudged me, and I walked into the base. There were 4 other Cybertronians and three kids in front of me, and they were all staring at me.

"Who are you?" a green mech spoke up.

"I'm Aniketos, and this is Hera Prime," Ketos replied.

"Another Prime? You gotta be joking…" a young girl with pink and black hair sputtered.

I just looked at them and retracted my battle mask, which had been covering up most of my face. Everyone gasped in shock when they saw my face.

"By the AllSpark… I thought you were a mech. This is the craziest thing I have witnessed in my life!" the medic cried.

"Life is full of crazy things. And I have one heck of a story for y'all. What would you think of a Cybertronian who was once a human?"

"Uh… Weird?" the girl spoke.

"That's impossible. There has never been any evidence of that ever happening," the medic mused.

"Well, I was once a human believe it or not. Aniketos was once an Earth horse. We both still retain those forms as one of our alternate modes."

"Really? Now I'm curious as to what you looked like as a human," a young boy spoke.

"Raf, we do not say those kind of things to our guests!" the medic grumped.

"Ratchet, take it easy old friend. Perhaps she is speaking the truth," Optimus scolded the medic. Ratchet just grumbled and turned back to whatever he was doing before we arrived. "Please forgive him. He is under a lot of stress right now. Our numbers are few, and we recently lost a comrade to the Decepticons."

"Understandable. Allow me to show you my human form."

I took a deep breath and concentrated on transforming back to my human self. I felt parts fly off and disappear into subspace. After a few moments, I opened my eyes, saw that I had my clothes on and sighed in relief.

"Now… What are y'all names?" I asked the others.

"I'm Bulkhead," the large green mech replied.

"I'm Bumblebee," a small yellow and black mech buzzed.

"I'm Arcee. It is nice to have another femme on base now," the only other femme in the room smiled.

"I'm Rafael, but you can call me Raf," the younger boy waved.

"I'm Jack," the older boy spoke.

"I'm Miko! How old are you? Where are you from? Do you like rock and roll?" the young girl exclaimed.

I chuckled at Miko's enthusiasm, and answered her questions. "As to how old I am, I am 30. I'm all the way from Texas, and yes I do like rock and roll as well as country and pop."

"Awesome!" Miko yelled.

"Hera?" Raf asked.

"Yes?"

"What did you mean when you said you had alternate modes?"

"I have 4 alternates all together. I have a F-15 Eagle fighter jet, a 2014 Bugatti Veyron Super Sport, and a 1992 Dodge Dakota pickup truck with AWD along with this mode."

"Wow. That's a lot. What about Aniketos?"

"He has the same jet and truck, but his third vehicular mode is a 2014 Yamaha YZF-R1 motorcycle and his fourth is a normal horse."

"Hey! Arcee's alt is a motorcycle too!" Miko chirped.

"Miko!" Arcee groaned.

"She's a handful, isn't she?" I smirked.

"You're right, Hera. She _is_ a handful," Bulkhead grumped.

"What was your old name?" Bumblebee buzzed.

"My old name was Julia Lovett. Aniketos' was Elantric Thunder. I used to call him Thunder."

"Sorry to break up the social gathering, but there has been a energon signal detected," Ratchet interrupted.

"Aw!" Miko whined.

"Don't worry Miko. We will get to chat more later," I reassured her. She just nodded her head.

"Hera and Aniketos, I would like for you two to join us," Optimus ordered.

"Yes sir." We replied in unison.

"Autobots, transform and roll out!"

"Ugh… I may never get used to that…" I groaned as I stepped out of the ground bridge, feeling sick again.

_**You alright?**_ I heard in my helm. I looked around in confusion. _**It's Ketos. We have a sibling bond for some reason. We can talk and send emotions to each other over this.**_

_** Well, that's kinda neat… At least we can talk without any sounds. **_I sent the feeling of a hug over the bond. I felt the same feeling returned, along with love and comfort. I sent the equivalence of a grin, then felt his amusement through the bond. _**Let's get moving.**_

_** Agreed. Hop on my back, I think you'll be able to see better.**_ I nodded my head and swung up into the saddle that was clicking its final pieces in place. Ketos walked along, making no sound as he followed Optimus. I looked around, having set my sensors to its maximum range. I immediately picked up about 4 dozen Decepticreeps on my scanners, and opened up a comm link to Optimus.

:Optimus?:

:What is it, Hera?:

:I am picking up several dozen Decepticreeps on my scanners.:

:Are you sure? I am not detecting any on mine.:

:I am. Are your scanners at maximum range?:

:No. Hang on. Yep, you're right. There's a whole mess of 'Cons up ahead of us.:

"Hold up," Optimus called out, holding his hand up, indicating we were to stop. "Hera picked up a whole mess of Decepticons on her scanners. We must be cautious; this location is one of their bigger mining operations. Bulkhead, Aniketos, you two run inference. I want you to draw out the Cons into the open where the rest of us can fire upon them. Hera, you have a fighter jet as one of your alt modes, am I correct?"

"Yes."

"I want you up in the sky, keeping a lookout for any incoming Decepticons. Watch out for Starscream, Soundwave and Megatron. They may try to shoot you down."

"And what if they manage to land before I can chase 'em off?" I asked.

"I'll just teach them a lesson or two. I doubt Meggy will try to mess with me again after what happened earlier," Ketos said with a smirk. "After all, his saber broke when it hit me."

"True. Megatron is less likely to try to go after Aniketos, but he may anyways. Arcee, Bumblebee, we will remain up here on the cliffs and shoot down on the Decepticons." Optimus finished giving out orders.

I transformed and took off with a roar of jets. I watched as Bulkhead and Ketos made their way down, making as much racket as they could. Suddenly, I detected three lone signals heading our way. I opened a comm link to everyone.

:Heads-up, three incoming. One signal is stronger than the other two.:

:Megatron. The other two is Starscream and Soundwave. Do your best to hold them off, Hera.: Optimus replied, then cut the comm link.

"Scrap," I muttered to myself. "Here we go."

Megatron came closer and closer. I quietly moved in behind the group, and just flew along for a few minutes, making sure to cloak my signal completely. They were talking amongst themselves, unaware of what I was about to do. I got a target lock on their thrusters, and sent out three missiles. They all hit their marks, causing all three to tumble out of the sky, transforming as they fell. I came down closer to where all three had landed.

"You fragger! You took out my jets! You'll pay for that!" Ugly roared.

Taking a moment to change my voice so he would never figure out who I am, I replied. "That's what you get for chattering amongst yourselves and not paying attention to your surroundings. Never overestimate yourself…"

"Come down here and fight like a mech!" Ugly roared.

I opened a comm link to Optimus. :Hera to Optimus, do you read?:

:Optimus here. I read you loud and clear.:

:I have Ugly, Screamer, and Wavy grounded. Ugly is challenging me to fight him. Permission to give him the worst nightmare of his life?:

:Permission granted. I will send Aniketos your way, we are almost done here.:

:Thank you. Hera out: I cut off the comm link.

"I'll take you on, Ugly face," I roared as I landed and transformed. I realized that I had two energon blades in my foreservos. With a flick of my hands, they were replaced with two deep blue glowing blades. "Bring it," I challenged. Ugly roared as he charged me. I waited until the last moment to sidestep and swung my servo at him. He bellowed as my blade went through his midsection. Spinning around, he brought his blade up and struck at me, hitting me in my chest. Using both blades, I fended off his blows.

"You will not last long, Autoscum. Your first hit is the only one you will get!" Ugly snarled at me, slashing away.

"Oh really? Well, I hope you go rot in hell for all eternity," I sassed as I landed blow up on blow on Ugly.

"You are no Prime! You will fall before me!" he punched me, causing me to fly back into a cliff. I scrambled to my pedes quickly.

"Think again Meggy. I do not fall that easy. Remember the cavern?" I snarled as I changed my left hand into a gun and blasted away at Ugly.

"Oh, scrap," he muttered as his eyes widened upon realizing that I was the very same guy. "Still, you will fall!"

"One shall rise, and one shall fall. I'm not planning on being the one that falls," I retorted as I charged at him, guns blazing. I saw a dark grey blur crash into Ugly, and I instantly grinned under my battle mask.

_**Perfect timing, Ketos. Time for him to meet his worst nightmare,**_ I said over the bond.

_**Will do. Time to teach him that if he messes with one, he gets them all, **_Ketos sent back, along with a feeling of anger and determination. I watched as Ketos transformed into his bipedal mode and proceeded to give Megatron a beating he would never forget. After a few minutes, he managed to escape, but barely hanging on to his life. Just then, the rest walked up behind me. I turned around, retracting my mask, and grinned at all of them.

"Now that is one Autobot I would not want to mess with," Bulkhead commented when he saw how badly Megatron was flying. "Boy, Ketos did a number on Meggy, didn't he?"

"I sure did," Ketos replied as he trotted up, having reverted to his new true form.

"That's my bro!" I remarked, proud that he had caused some heavy damage to Megatron.

"Nice going, Aniketos. Are you harmed in any way?" Optimus asked.

"I'm perfectly fine, other than being a tad bit tired."

"What about you, Hera?"

"Got a nasty gash on my chest. Otherwise, I'll be fine," I said, feeling tired. "Can we go home? I wanna go to sleep now…"

"Certainly," Optimus chuckled. He pressed the comm link and requested a ground bridge.

After Ratchet had attended to my gash, I decided to find a place to sleep for a few hours. I found a quiet room where there was a window, and walked in. The room was completely bare, but that was all right with me. I noticed that there was a large area where the sun was hitting the wall and floor. _Perfect,_ I thought to myself. My body screamed in agony as I slowly lowered myself to the floor. I sighed in relief as I felt the warm sunlight hit my metallic skin. I closed my eyes and fell asleep.

* * *

**All right, y'all know what to do. Do your own little thing!**

**Until next time, this is JML Ranch transforming and rolling out!**


	2. Chapter 2

**JML Ranch:** *walks into living room* Oy... So tired...  
**Optimus:** Long day?  
**JML Ranch:** Yep...  
**Optimus:** Aw... come here.  
**JML Ranch:** *walks over to couch*  
**Optimus:** *reaches for me and pulls me onto couch*  
**JML Ranch:** *ends up on Optimus' chest* Oh... well, isn't this nice... Think I'm gonna just conk out for the night right here.  
**Optimus:** *looks down at me in amusement* She's fast asleep already. I believe that's a new record. *Looks back up* Anyways... while she's asleep, here's Chapter 2.

* * *

:Comm link:  
_Thoughts_  
"Talking"  
_"Primus talking"_  
_**Bond**_

* * *

"Hey, where's Hera?" Miko asked as she walked into the main room.

"Asleep. Not sure where she is though," Ketos answered.

"How do you know?"

"Sibling bond. For some reason, we share one. I tried to reach her, but all I got was the sense of being asleep. That's how I know."

"Sibling bond? When did you find out?" Ratchet inquired.

"Right after we went through the ground bridge to check on the signal."

"Huh," Ratchet muttered.

"Do you need her for a reason, Miko?" Ketos asked.

"Nah, it's okay, Ketos. She needs the rest anyways. She looked absolutely exhausted when she came back in."

"I need to talk to her, however," Optimus spoke up as he walked into the main room. "Would you find her?"

"Certainly," Ketos replied.

_**Hey, you awake? **_Ketos prodded the bond.

_**Urrrgh… I was having a nice nap… What is it now, Ketos?**_ I grumbled, not happy about being roused out of my lovely nap.

_**Optimus needs to talk to you about something. I do not know what it is, however.**_

_** Tell him I will be there, but I am not happy about being woken up,**_ I replied crossly, sending my annoyance and irritated feeling through the bond.

"She will be here, but beware. She's kind of ticked off now…" Ketos trailed off.

"May I ask why?" Optimus inquired.

"Because he woke me up. I was having a very nice nap…" I grumbled as I walked into the room, rubbing my eyes with my hands. "Sorry. I tend to be a bit cranky when I wake up. What is it?"

Optimus did not say anything, but gestured for me to follow him. I looked at Ketos, sending my confusion over the bond. He shrugged, sending me confusion back. I just shook my helm and started to follow Optimus. He walked along the hallways, not saying anything. I started to get a little bit uneasy.

"Optimus… Where are we going?" I asked, my voice wavering ever so slightly.

"No need to be nervous, Julia," Optimus reassured me.

"Uh…why did you call me Julia just now? That was my old name," I said, perplexed as to why he called me that. Optimus did not say anything but came to a door and opened it. I looked and saw that it led to the roof of the base. I stepped through into the moonlight, and walked out a little bit. Optimus walked to the edge and sat down. He patted the ground next to him, and I sat down next to him.

"I was not always a Prime. I was once known as Orion Pax. I used to work in the archives back on Cybertron. The Council chose me to be a Prime because they needed someone to lead the Council, and at the time the war was on the verge of breaking out. Megatron was a gladiator in the pits of Kaon, and he called himself Megatronous, after one of the Original 13 Primes. He became involved with politics, and became one of the best spokesperson in the political circles. That is, until he became corrupted. He wanted to rule with force, and I did not agree with him. We had many debates in front of the Council. The day they chose me to be the next Prime- Megatron decided to build up an army, and called themselves the Decepticons. Anyone who did not side with him were called Autobots. The Autobots chose me to be their leader. The war raged on for eons. Slowly, Cybertron was ruined. I went down into the core, where Primus lives. He is the one who gave Cybertron life. He gave me the Matrix of Leadership, and I took off to the stars, collecting any Autobots who had fled. The group I have now is all that I could find. I was lucky that Ratchet was already with me when I fled. Arcee, Bumblebee and a few others found Ratchet and me a few years later. Bulkhead left the Wreckers, which is like black ops in human terms. He joined us not too long before we arrived on Earth. I hope there are more coming this way."

"Wow. You had it much worse than me. I cannot imagine my world gone- nothing left," I said softly, putting a comforting hand on his servo. "I hope there are others headed this way too."

He smiled at me softly, and then looked out across the landscape. "What about yourself?"

"As you know, I was called Julia Lovett. I grew up in a small town, out on a small ranch. I had horses, dogs, and cats. I played sports just like any other kid would. However… I was deaf."

Optimus looked at me with shock. "You were deaf?" he whispered softly.

"I was. Not anymore now, ha. Thank goodness. Anyways, when I first came into this world, I had a very… traumatic beginning. I was born 6 weeks early, and I was extremely ill. I apologize for all the human terms I am about to use, but here goes. My liver was failing, and my lungs were not developed all the way. The doctors had to put me on several medications and high oxygen for some time. I spent about three weeks straight in the hospital. I couldn't consume food like a normal person would because if I tried to, the food just went into my lungs. So, I had to be fed through a tube until I was 18 months old. After that, I was pretty much normal. Well, besides the fact that I had to wear hearing aids for most of my childhood. When I turned 13 years old, I had cochlear implant surgery on my right ear. Basically, I received a 'upgrade' on my hearing," I said, laughing slightly as I said the last part. "Then a year later, I had the same procedure done on my left. And ever since then, I had been able to hear so much more. Now that I'm one of y'all, I no longer have to worry about my hearing or anything like that."

Just then the realization dawned upon me that I would never get to see my parents again. My entire frame stiffened up as my mind/processor struggled to process the fact. Optimus must have either felt me stiffen up or saw my expression, because he reached out with his other hand and touched me gently on my servo.

"Are you all right?" he asked softly.

I swallowed hard, trying not to cry. "N-no. I-I just realized t-that I will n-never see my p-parents again…" I managed to squeak out, my voice cracking. I couldn't say anything more after that because I buried my face in my hands. I felt a set of servos wrap around me, and then was pulled into Optimus' chest. I hesitantly wrapped my own servos around him. He merely just pulled me in closer, running a hand up and down my back. We sat there for a few minutes, not saying anything. Finally, I quit crying, and was overcome with tiredness. I rested my helm against his chest, listening to a soft thrumming sound that was emitting from his chest. I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion as I tried to figure out what that sound was.

"You look like you're trying to figure something out. What is it?" Optimus asked, slightly amused by my expression.

"I hear a soft thrumming sound from here," I replied, tapping on his chest gently. "Sounds like some sort of heartbeat?"

"You are pretty close. That is my spark. It's like the human heart, except it is a little bit more… complicated."

"How so?"

"It's the soul of all Cybertronians, so to speak. If a spark goes out, it's gone forever. The human heart can be restarted several minutes after death, but you only have a minute or two after a spark goes out to restart it. After that, there is nothing you can do to revive them."

"Ah," I murmured. "I've noticed something rather interesting about Cybertronians and humans."

"What?"

"Cybertronians are basically the gigantic metal version of humans," I looked up at him, smiling.

"Is that so?" he raised an eyebrow at me.

"Yep. Funny, isn't it?" I grinned even bigger.

"Well then, humans are the minuscule organic version of Cybertronians," he smirked.

"You're right," I said while laughing. "Never thought that two totally different species could be so similar to each other."

"I'll agree with you on that one. Humans and Cybertronians are so similar; it's almost creepy to me," he snickered.

I yawned widely. "Excuuuse me…"

"Someone's tired," he commented. Then he yawned.

"Make that two," I quipped. He burst out laughing. His laughter sent shivers through my frame. _ That laugh is adorable. What the slag? Get that outta here! Urgh… You like him don't ya? Doubt it that he likes you back. What the- Are you that dense, ya aft? He likes you obviously! Otherwise he wouldn't have asked ya to follow him to the roof of the base. Maybe he's just being a good friend. I'll just deal with ya later, you fragging processor!_ I thought to myself, silently scolding myself. Sighing, I rested my helm back on his chest, listening to the soft, deep thrumming of his spark. I closed my eyelids half way, feeling very drowsy. Optimus rested his chin on top of my helm, and let out a soft sigh. It wasn't long before I fell into a deep sleep.

My internal alarm went off with a loud, annoying blare. I shut it off and rubbed my eyes sleepily with my hand. Then I was aware of two servos around my midsection, and that I was curled up to none other than Optimus. My eyes widened in alarm when I realized that we were still on the roof, and that we had slept there overnight. Apparently he had picked me up and carried me to our current spot, which was against a cliff face. I looked up and saw that he was still asleep. _His alarm must have not gone off yet, which means I very well could be the first one up,_ I thought to myself. _Oh well. Back to sleep, then._ I closed my eyes again and was about to drift back into a deep sleep when I heard his alarm go off. He grumbled something incoherent, and then the alarm was silent. I opened one eye and saw that he had gone back to sleep. I smirked to myself internally, because he reminded me of myself. I would do the very same thing many times when I was a human. Then I felt a pang of sadness. I knew that I would probably never get to see my parents again, because they were civilians and they would not be allowed to see me or the other Autobots. Another alarm burst into my thoughts, and Optimus shifted again.

"Ugh… Another day. Time ta git up. Wha… Oh! Mornin' Julia," he spoke, his morning accent obvious. "How long were ya up?"

"Not long. Oh and by the way, you have an adorable morning accent," I said, smiling.

"Thanks. Didn't realize I had one," he smiled, his speech clearing up. "Let us not speak of this in front of the others. I fear what may happen if they start to get suspicious."

"Agreed. And don't call me Julia in front of the others either."

"Very well. You can call me Orion if you wish, just not in front of the others."

"That's fine with me. Shall we head in, Orion?" I rose to my pedes, offering my hand to him. He took my hand and I pulled him up with no effort. I grinned when he looked at me in surprise.

"I did not realize you were _that_ strong, Julia. Even Bulkhead has a hard time pulling me up," he said, shaking his helm in disbelief.

"I may be smaller, but I am stronger than I look. Never underestimate anyone," I said lightly. I then heard a beep from a comm link.

:Where are you two pit-spawned fraggers!? Get your afts down here now!: Ratchet roared through the comm link.

:Ratchet. Please keep it down. And watch your mouth.: Orion grumbled.

:Besides, why do you need us right this moment?: I asked.

:Fowler's here. And he wants to talk to Optimus.:

:Tell Fowler I will be there in a few minutes.: Orion replied then cut the comm link. I cut mine off before Ratchet could say anything.

"I just hope he doesn't have a wrench waiting for us…" I muttered, silently cursing to myself.

"I'm pretty sure he does." Orion replied tersely. I groaned, and started to walk towards the door leading into the base.

"What took you so long?" Fowler demanded as Orion walked in the main room. I walked in silently behind him and leaned against the wall, crossing my servos in front of me.

"I had matters I needed to take care. I did not know you would be here so early," Orion replied calmly. I glanced over at Ratchet and he was holding a wrench in both hands, a murderous look on his face. I let out a small _eep_ as I slowly moved along the wall, heading to a box that I could duck behind. Just then, Ratchet threw both wrenches at Orion and me. I yelped as I dove behind the box, barely avoiding the Wrench 'O Doom. Orion was rubbing the newly made dent on the side of his helm. I saw that the Wrench 'O Doom was lying near me. Silently, I grabbed the wrench.

"Well, I have some good and bad news for you guys," Fowler said, glancing at Ratchet with a wary expression. I peeked over the edge of the box, my antennas pinned back low against my helm.

"What's the good news?" I squeaked.

Fowler looked my way. "Who are you?"

"I'm Hera Prime. Newest addition to the Autobots."

"Why are you behind that box?"

"Trying to avoid Ratchet the Hatchet over there."

"WHY MUST THAT PITSPAWNED NAME FOLLOW ME EVERYWHERE?!" Ratchet lamented. He unsubspaced another wrench and threw it at me. I ducked down again, the wrench whizzing past me harmlessly. I quickly threw the wrench I had in my hand. A loud CLANG proclaimed that I had hit the mark, which was Ratchet's helm. He looked at me warily, worried that I would pull out another wrench and hit him again.

"Anyways… The good news is, there is another team of Autobots," Fowler announced.

"Who is in this team?" Orion asked, shocked. I quickly perked my antennas up, curious as to the names.

"There's 16 on this team- Ironhide, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, Mudflap, Skidz, Jazz, Jolt, Jetfire, Wheeljack, Mirage, Ultra Magnus, Red Alert, Prowl, First Aid, Elita-One and Chromia," Fowler listed off.

"Holy moly! That's a big group. That will be a nice addition to our ranks," I replied, shocked at the size of the group.

"Ha-ha! The Wreckers are back together again!" Bulkhead exclaimed.

"Which ones are the Wreckers?" I asked, confused.

"Jackie, Magnus, and ol' Ironhide. We served together back on Cybertron. Ol' Ironhide is the Weapons Specialist, along with his bondmate Chromia. Jackie is the explosion expert, Magnus and I are the ones who smash things," Bulkhead said proudly.

"I'll get to see my sisters again!" Arcee happily said.

"I get my medic assistants back," Ratchet muttered happily.

"Sounds like y'all have known each other for many years," I said, grinning at everyone. "What's the bad news Fowler?"

Fowler let out a sigh. "You guys will have to relocate, and I will not be your liaison agent anymore."

The entire room went silent. I wished that I could have gotten to know Agent Fowler better; he seemed like a good man.

"Why?" Ketos asked softly.

"Government slag. Nothing I can do about it. However, they created a new section of military called NEST. That is where you guys will be going."

The room broke out in chatter, everyone asking questions about various things. My processor started to spin from all the questions, and I had enough.

"HEY! That's enough! Let Fowler explain what is going to happen!" I snapped, my antennas twitching with slight annoyance. Everyone shut up right away. Fowler looked at me with a grateful expression. I nodded, indicating he could continue with what he was going to say.

"Anyways, Ratchet, you can bring your medical supplies with you. The rest of you guys, you can bring all your personal belongings with you. Miko, Jack, Raf- you three are going to join them."

"Where is this new base?" I asked curiously.

"A few miles away from here. They have been there for about three years now."

"What? How come they never came up on our scanners?" Ratchet interjected, surprised. "We have been here for the last 5 years!"

"I have no idea, Ratchet. Our government finally figured out that there were two groups of Autobots hiding within a few miles of each other. They will be here tomorrow sometime to collect your stuff."

"Oh joy… I hate packing," I grumped. Orion looked at me with an amused expression. I looked back at him, trying to look ticked. He only smirked at me. I scoffed, trying to stop the smile that was creeping its way on my face. Finally, I chuckled, shaking my helm. He walked over to me, then stopped next to me.

"You're one crazy femme, Julia," he whispered in my ear/audio dials.

"Crazy is my middle name. That's just in my nature, Orion Pax," I whispered back in a serious tone.

"Oh, so Crazy is your middle name?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"No. It's actually Bonkers," I said with the straightest face I could muster.

"A little birdie told me it was Megan, right?" he smirked. I narrowed my eyes at him, trying to be mad but failing miserably. My face just broke out in a wide grin.

"And I thought I was the crazy one. You're crazy yourself, Orion. Let's go get our slag packed up so we can move out of this dusty old silo," I replied, snickering slightly. Orion just rolled his eyes at me and headed off to his room. I ran off to my room that I shared with Aniketos.


	3. Chapter 3

**JML Ranch: ***busy typing away*  
**Optimus:** *whispering* I think scaring her while she is working is a bad idea... There's no telling what she will do...  
**Ratchet:** *whispering* You're right. Try telling that to the Terror Twins...  
**Sunstreaker and Sideswipe (Terror Twins):** *snickering as they sneak up behind me*  
**JML Ranch:***smirks when I hear the Terror Twins snickering*  
**Terror Twins:** *Screams when I whirl around, pointing a Kimber 9mm handgun at them* Where did she get that thing from?!  
**Optimus, Ratchet, and Ironhide:** *breaks out in loud, raucous laughter*  
**Ironhide:** I believe you two have been busted big-time...  
**JML Ranch:** That's right, Sunshine and Swipey.  
**Sunstreaker:** Don't call me that!  
**JML Ranch:** Better than Sunny Sides Up. That's my nickname for you two troublemakers.  
**Optimus:** *slaps a hand over his mouth to keep from laughing out loud*  
**Ratchet:** HAHAHAHAHA! That's the best one I have heard!  
**Ironhide:** I'll second that, Ratch!  
**Hera Prime:** What's up, sista!  
**JML Ranch:** Hey Hera! Not much, just scaring the slag outta Sunny Sides Up.  
**Terror Twins:** *Glares at me*  
**Hera:** Ha! Good nickname for the Terror Twins. Need help chasing them out of your room?  
**JML Ranch:** Please... I'm getting tired of their antics. Feel free to use your cannons on them.  
**Hera:** Gladly. *onlines both cannons and points at the Terror Twins* All right! GET THE PIT OUTTA HERE NOW!  
**Terror Twins:** *screams like little girls and flees when Hera's cannons whirls dangerously*  
**JML Ranch:** I never thought that two full-grown mechs would scream like little girls... *doubles over laughing* At least they won't be bothering me for a while. Ironhide, would you do the disclaimer and warnings?  
**Ironhide:** Gladly. *powers up both cannons* JML Ranch does not own a slagging thing about Transformers. They belong to Hasbro. The warning is for mild language and strong scenes. *powers down cannons* That cover everything?  
**JML Ranch:** Yes, and thank you again. *holsters gun* Here's Chapter 3!

* * *

**_Bond_**_  
__Thoughts  
"Primus_ Speaking"  
_Song_  
"Normal Speaking"  
:Comm link:

* * *

It had been a few weeks since we had moved in to the new base. I discovered that Elita-One, Arcee, and Chromia were triplets, and that Orion was their big brother. Sideswipe and Sunstreaker were twins, as well as Mudflap and Skidz. I tended to avoid both sets of twins, due to the fact that they were like immature teenagers and they kept trying to hit on me. The older twins loved to pull pranks, and I found this out because they had pranked poor Ratchet. Apparently they redid his Med Bay in neon pink with silver. There had been no sign of Decepticreep activity, which caused Orion to worry about what they were planning. I had killed time by creating several oversized beanbag chairs- some big enough for the Autobots, others human-sized. I was lounging in one of the beanbag chairs in the rec room, bored out of my processor. Pulling up my phone on my HUD, I opened up the music app and browsed through the songs I had. I picked one of my favorite rock-and-roll songs, Ramblin' Gamblin' Man by Bob Seger. I closed my eyes and nodded my helm in time to the song. It was not too long before I lost myself into the music, oblivious to what was happening around me.

Miko and Jazz stood off to one side talking, when they noticed me jamming along with the music. They watched me with rapt curiosity, wondering what I was listening to. I started to sign along to one of my favorite songs, Texas In 1880 by Radney Foster. I still had my eyes closed the entire time.

_I can hear the wind whispering my name  
Tellin' me it's time to head out again  
My horses are trailered and the lights are shut down  
I'm long overdue for heading outta town_

_Gotta fever they call the rodeo  
Just enough winners and make the next show  
Sometimes you make eight sometimes you hit dirt  
Go on pin another number to the back of my shirt_

_And I'll ride that pony fast  
Like a cowboy from the past  
Be young and wild and free  
Like Texas in 1880  
Just like Texas in 1880_

_From Phoenix to Tulsa to the Astro Dome  
From New York City down to San Antonio  
There's boys that are ridin' for legendary fame  
And our money's all gone but they still ride the same  
Our hearts are gettin' broke  
And our heads are gettin' busted  
We'll always believe in the things that we trusted  
They'll be those nights when glory comes round  
And we'll tip our hats and wave to the crowd_

_And I'll ride that pony fast  
Like a cowboy from the past  
Be young and wild and free  
Like Texas in 1880  
Just like Texas in 1880_

_Someday when you're older someone'll see  
That buckle hangin' there on your belt  
Askin' just how it felt_

_And I'll ride that pony fast  
Like a cowboy from the past  
Be young and wild and free  
Like Texas in 1880  
Just like Texas in 1880_

_Just like Texas  
Take me home to Texas  
Play it just like Texas  
No no no  
No no no  
Play it just like Texas  
Yeah…yeah yeah!_

I opened my eyes and saw that the entire room was filled with Autobots. I felt my face heat up with embarrassment, my cooling fans kicking on high. I hadn't realized that they came in the room. I stared at the ground, glancing up every now and then.

"That was just awesome! What were you doing with your hands?" Miko asked.

"That, my friend, is called sign language. I learned that when I was an infant, and I grew up with it all my life. I assume everyone hasn't heard my story about how I ended up with the Autobots?" I directed the last part at the large group. Most of them shook their helm, indicating that they hadn't heard about me. It took me a good 15, 20 minutes to tell the story, but when I finished, most of the Autobots had a shocked expression on their faces. I answered simple questions that most of them had, and they slowly left the room, some by themselves and others in small groups of 3 or 4. When everyone except for Ketos, Orion, Jack, Raf, and Miko had left, Miko tapped my servo, which had been resting near her.

"Yes Miko?" I said, turning my helm to look at her.

"Where are your parents?" she asked innocently. I froze instantly, feeling the sadness wash over me. I hadn't seen my parents since that awful day nearly four years ago.

"Miko…" Orion said sternly when he saw me freeze. I waved him off.

"It's fine Optimus. She is merely curious," I said softly. "The last time I saw them was nearly four years ago. I'm pretty sure they are alright, but it causes me a lot of pain to not be able to tell them what happened to me. Part of that is because my parents are civilians, although my mom is an Air Force veteran. I would love to see them again however. I know they would accept me for the way I am now, and that I can't be around as much anymore. I have a feeling that they probably think I am dead now because I have been gone for a long time."

"I'm sorry. I can understand how you feel, Hera," Miko said sadly, putting her hand on top of my much larger hand. "I haven't seen my real parents in a few years. I'm a transfer student from China. But I know that they are always with me in my heart, no matter where I live."

"Thanks Miko," I said, transforming into my human form and giving her a hug. Orion then cleared his throat. Miko and I both turned to look at him.

"Hera… I have an idea. What if your parents came here as the kids' liaison? I don't like the current one we have right now, mostly because he is a self-centered egotistical afthead. I think your parents would be better suited as the kids' liaison. I'll run it by General Morshower and Colonel Lennox."

I looked at him with shock. The kids looked at me, waiting to see what I would say. I opened and closed my mouth several times as I struggled to form a coherent thought.

"I think that sounds like a wonderful idea," I finally answered. "My parents can be trusted with this type of stuff. And seeing how my dad has secret clearance from work and that my mom is a former military veteran, they probably will have all the qualifications needed. Problem though- how are we going to introduce them to the team and Galloway? And how are we going to find them?"

"I will handle that. You just worry about figuring out where your parents will stay on base. I will let you know when Morshower and Lennox reaches a decision," Orion replied. With that, he left the room.

"You guys want to help me out?" I asked, turning to the kids. They all grinned and gave me a thumbs-up. I grinned back as I put my hands on the railing. I looked down, judging the distance between the railing and the floor. Stepping back a few feet, I took a deep breath and ran at the railing. As soon as I felt my feet leave the catwalk, I activated my transformation sequence. As I floated through the air, I felt my parts fly out of my subspace, shifting and clicking into place. I landed on my pedes without a single sound, stood up and turned around to the catwalk.

"You're a daredevil, Hera!" Miko cried. "That was just frickin' awesome!"

I laughed as I raised my hands to the railing. The kids climbed over the railing and sat down on my hands. I carried them through the base, looking for an ideal place.

"Is there a room near where yours is?" Raf asked.

"I believe you're right, Raf. Let's go look," I replied, heading off towards my room. Upon arriving, I lowered my hands so the kids could climb off. I transformed back into my human form, and walked into the door next to my room.

"Wow! I think this could work!" Miko exclaimed as we walked through the rooms.

"I think you're right, Miko. What do you think, Hera?" Jack asked.

I nodded my head. "I like this. And it's right next door to my room, which is an added bonus. Let's head to town and get some paint. This place could use some sprucing up." The rooms were bare gunmetal grey, matching the rest of the base. The kids cheered in agreement. I chuckled as I walked out of the room, and transformed into my BVSS. The kids stared at me in shock.

"Wow! Didn't realize just how totally rad you looked!" Raf exclaimed.

"Thanks, Raf. This is the first time I have actually transformed into this mode. Normally, I use my truck mode, but since we're going into town today, I figured you guys would like something a bit more fancier and roomier. Hop in!"

The kids piled in and I drove out to the long road leading to the gate. I knew that the road was about 20 miles, and that it was all straight and flat.

"Y'all may want to hang on something…" I said cryptically. Jack realized what I was talking about, and grabbed the 'oh scrap' handle. Miko did the same, and Raf just clung on to Jack. I smirked to myself, and took off like a rocket. They all screamed in alarm at first, then the screams turned into whoops and shrieks of excitement. I reached 300 mph in about 1/32 of a second, which was faster than what the car was designed for, but thanks to my new Cybertronian form, my alt. mode was able to handle the higher speeds and acceleration. It only took me about 3 minutes to reach the other end, and I slowed down quickly during the last mile.

"That… Was… INTENSE!" Jack and Raf hollered at the same time, still feeling the adrenaline rush.

"I agree. Woo! We have to do that again sometime soon," I replied, panting slightly.

"Can we do it on the way back?" Miko pleaded.

"Sorry Miko, but we'll have the paint in my trunk. I would rather not have one of the paint cans open and end up with a huge, and potentially embarrassing, mess to clean up. Did y'all realize I have a back seat?"

"Oh. No, I didn't…" Jack replied.

"It's okay. Miko, you'll have to get out of the driver's seat."

"Aww!" Miko moaned, but moved to the back seat.

"Y'all need to close your eyes for a few minutes. I'll let y'all know when it's okay to open them," I said. They nodded and covered their eyes. Concentrating, I made my human mode appear in the driver's seat. _Wow, this is weird… I'm seeing through my human form, but I can still see through my alt. mode as well,_ I thought to myself as I blinked my eyes a few times. "All clear, guys. Y'all can uncover your eyes now."

"Woah… Is that a holoform?" Raf asked, obviously surprised.

"Not really. I can actually be in two alt. modes at the same time. I can use my human form with any of the vehicular modes. Unfortunately, I cannot use two vehicular modes at the same time," I replied, smiling at the shocked expressions on the kids' faces.

"Why can't you be in your truck and car at the same time?" Miko asked, confused.

"Too much energy. If I tried, I would fall into stasis lock for a month. Ratchet warned me about it when I told him I could be in my human form as well as one of my alt. modes."

"Ah. Makes sense. Are we close to the store?"

"We're just pulling in, Miko," I parked my alt. mode in a space. "Everyone out! Let's go get some paint and get ready to rumble!"

A few hours later, we had returned from the store with several gallons of paint, and all the painting supplies we needed. Right now, I was painting the walls of the bathroom. I had decided to paint it a creamy tan color and was planning on adding an autumn leaf wallpaper border along the top when the paint was dry enough. Jack and Raf were working in the dining room, while Miko and Aniketos were in the living room. Ketos had noticed us return from the store, and got curious as to what we were up to. Miko asked him if he wanted to help her, and he had agreed. Sighing, I poured the unused paint back into the can and closed the lid. Looking out the door, I had to smile at the sight before me. Ketos was standing next to the wall; stock still while Miko was standing on his back, painting.

"Looks good, Miko! The color was actually a good choice."

"Thanks!" She grinned widely, proud that she had helped me pick out the paint. I had allowed the kids to choose two colors that they thought would look good in each room, and after they had made their picks, I looked at them along with the ones I picked and chose the ones that would work. Miko had picked a really nice soft mint color for the living room, Raf had picked a pale yellow color for the dining room, and Jack had picked a nice sky-blue color for the bedroom. We finished painting the rooms an hour and half later.

"Today was a fun day! Now we have to wait until tomorrow to make sure the paint is dry enough for us to be able to start moving in furniture and stuff." I stood in the middle of the room, admiring the colors.

"What do you mean, start moving in furniture and stuff tomorrow?" Jack asked.

"While we were painting, I was shopping for furniture and other household items online. I went ahead and bought everything. They'll be here tomorrow around noon," I grinned.

"How did you manage to get them ordered so quickly?" Miko asked, shocked.

"Let's say I have my connections and leave it at that," I replied. I had called in a favor to General Morshower, explaining my situation and what I wanted to do. He got the stuff I had requested for on overnight shipping, and said that he would take care of the cost. I was very grateful, and was trying to come up with something for him as a thank-you gift.

"I'm going to see if Bulkhead wants to go dune-bashing. Want to come along, Hera?"

"Maybe tomorrow morning. I'm pretty tired, and I think I will go take an unscheduled nap. See y'all around," I replied, walking out into the hall and transforming back to my bipedal mode. I made my way to the rec room, and headed over to the energon dispenser. Picking up the cube, I opened it and took a long drink, emptying half of it. My knees creaked and groaned as I sat down in one of the chairs. I winced slightly at the pain that shot through them.

"Shouldn't have spent most of the day in my human mode," I grumbled to myself, taking another drink.

"May I ask why?" a voice replied. I looked to my left and saw Orion.

"Was painting my parents' new quarters. The kids helped me today, and we were able to paint everything. All we have to do is add some wall paper, move in the furniture, and it's ready," I answered; feeling very tired and wore out. I sighed softly, and moved my leg slightly. _OUCH! That hurt like the Pit!_ I screamed out internally. Orion must have seen the pain in my eyes, because he came over to where I was sitting, and after glancing around him to make sure no one else was in the room, crouched in front of me.

"Are you okay?" he asked softly, worry edging its way into his voice. I wasn't sure of what to say, and just shook my helm.

"What is it?" he placed a comforting hand on mine.

"My knees are hurting a lot right now," I sighed softly. "It started last week. Normally, it doesn't bother me when I stay in my human mode all day, but lately I can't seem to do that. Today's the worst they have hurt."

"I'm taking you to the Med Bay. You need to see Ratchet now," he stood up. I nodded, agreeing with him. He took the now-empty cube from me and tossed it into the trashcan. Gently, he picked me up. I bit back the sharp cry of pain, and closed my eyes. He stood patiently as the pain started to subside. When the pain had passed, I opened my eyes again and rested my helm between his neck and shoulder. He slowly walked to the Med Bay, moving with so much grace that I almost could not believe it. Without really thinking, I gently nuzzled his neck. Moving his helm so that his cheek plate was now against my forehelm, he nuzzled me back. This caused me to start purring very softly, so softly that only Orion could hear me. A few seconds later, he started purring softly. His was much deeper and lower than mine, making me _very_ sleepy. I was tempted to fall asleep, but we arrived at the Med Bay before I gave in to the temptation. Orion quit purring right as the Med Bay doors slid open and entered the room.

Ratchet stood at the computers, obviously working on something. He whirled around when Orion entered the room, servo raised with a Wrench O' Doom in his hand, ready to throw it. Lowering the wrench, he blinked in surprise at the sight of Orion carrying me in his servos.

"What happened?" Ratchet asked, having gotten over the initial surprise.

"She's in a lot of pain right now. Can you look at her?" Orion replied quietly.

"Sure. Set her down on the table."

Orion set me down, being very mindful about my knees. After he let me go, I started to extend my legs.

"Ahh!" I yelped as soon as I moved my leg. "F**k," I swore under my breath. Normally I don't use human curse words, but when I do, you know it's _bad_. Ratchet whirled around, stunned that I had used a human curse word.

"Did I just hear you say a human curse word?" Ratchet said as he walked over to me. I just nodded my helm. "Hurts that bad, huh?" I nodded again. "Where does it hurt the most?"

"My knees… They started bothering me early last week, but the pain was very little. It's gotten worse in the last day or two. Every time I sit down or stand, they make a lot of noise."

"When did they start making noises?"

"About two weeks ago. The noises started off really soft, but now it's very loud. At least, to me anyways."

"Optimus?"

"I started noticing the sounds last week. And yes, the sounds have gotten louder in the last day or two," Orion replied. "I knew something was wrong when I saw her sit down in the rec room, and I could see her wince slightly."

"All right. Hera, I'm going to disable the pain receptors in your knees now. Then I want you to extend your legs out so I can get a better look," Ratchet disabled the pain receptors around my knees. I let out a big sigh of relief as the pain stopped.

"That feels so much better. Ohhhh… That doesn't sound good at all," I winced at how loud my knees were protesting as I extended them. Orion and Ratchet both winced at the same time at the loud sounds. Ratchet pulled out his scanner, and ran it over my knees a few times. He then went over to the computer to look at the results further. He started to mutter to himself, and I knew that it was never a good thing when he started to mutter to himself about the results. Orion and I exchanged worried glances, and then looked at Ratchet. Ratchet stood up from the computer, and came back over, a grim expression on his face.

"Your knees are badly damaged. It looks like they were not very strong to begin with in the first place. Basically, if you keep walking on them like they are, they will give out completely. There's no telling when they will give out, so I recommend that you get them replaced now before any more damage occurs."

I pondered over what Ratchet had said. I knew he was right- if I kept walking around on my bad knees, they will give out completely. It was only a matter of time. I did not want to be in the middle of battle and have either one or both give out on me at the wrong time.

"All right," I nodded my helm. "When can you do the replacement?"

"I can do it right now if you like. You'll have to remain in the Med Bay for three days after the operation, and then you'll have to be in a wheelchair for two weeks afterwards."

"I understand. And yes, please go ahead and do the operation now," I agreed, lying down on the table. Ratchet walked into the storage room, and returned with most of the necessary supplies he needed.

"Optimus, I'm going to have to ask you to leave now. You can come by tomorrow morning when she's awake," Ratchet gently shooed Orion out. I quickly opened a private comm link with him.

:If the kids and Aniketos ask about where I am tomorrow morning, tell them I'm in the Med Bay. And, if they ask why, you can go ahead and explain to them what's going on.:

:I'll make sure they know, Julia. I hope the surgery goes smoothly.:

:Me too, Orion. I'll see you tomorrow morning.:

:See you then.:

I cut the comm link off, and turned my attention to Ratchet. He had finished gathering the supplies, and was smirking at me slightly.

"What?" I said.

"You like Optimus, don't you? Don't tell me you only like him as a friend. I can see right through that," He said smugly, crossing his servos over his chest.

"Heh… Yeah I do," I replied, rubbing the back of my neck, slightly embarrassed. "I think he likes me too, but I'm not too sure myself."

"Oh, he does. I've seen how you two interact with each other. It's pretty obvious to me that he's fallen for you. Why haven't you said anything to him yet?"

"I'm not the type to rush into a serious relationship. I'd rather just let things happen at a natural pace. My philosophy is to be friends first, then see where things go from there."

"Interesting philosophy. And a good one too," Ratchet picked up a tool and removed a panel of armor from my helm. "Ok, I'm going to shut down everything so you won't feel anything at all."

I felt him click a small internal switch in my helm, and then I started to feel hazy. Soon I slipped away into the darkness.

* * *

**Heh... Poor Hera... I'm so evil. :) Y'all know the drill.**

**Until next time, this is JML Ranch transforming and rolling out!**


	4. Chapter 4

**JML Ranch: **Howdy! SO SO SO SO SO SORRY for the long delay! I got really busy in the last few months, and things are finally settling down a bit. Here's Chapter 4!  
**Ironhide:** Finally! It's about slagging time ya updated!  
**JML Ranch:** Oh, can it ya overgrown rust bucket!  
**Ironhide:** *onlines both cannons, charging them and pointing at me* Don't tell me what to do!  
**JML Ranch:** *growls at Ironhide, left arm transforms into a cannon*  
**Ironhide:** O.o meep...  
**Optimus:** *walks into room* All right, what's going on in here? *sees my cannon* *passes out*  
_**CLANG!**_*Optimus collapses onto floor*  
**JML Ranch:** Scrap! Ratchet?  
**Ratchet:** What the frag happened here?! *sees my arm* Oh... O.O  
**JML Ranch:** Yea... I'm actually one of y'all now... Heh. *blushes*  
**Ironhide:** That cannon is bigger than mine... No fair.  
**JML Ranch:** Life's not always fair. Get over it. *transforms arm back to normal* Jazz-man, would you do the disclaimer and warnings?  
**Jazz:** Sure! JML Ranch does not own Transformers, and the warning is for Cybertronian cursing. Awesome cannon, by the way.  
**JML Ranch:** Thanks Jazz-man! Gonna have fun scaring the living daylights out of Sunny Sides Up. *grins maliciously*

* * *

_**Bond** _  
_"Primus speaking" _  
"Normal Speaking"  
:Comm link:

* * *

I woke up after what felt like a few minutes, and looked around. I was in a desert, and I could see sand for what seemed like miles around. I knew instantly that I was not in my normal world, but a parallel universe. I kept looking around me, and finally spotted what looked like a small group of Cybertronians in the distance. I started walking towards them.

I had been walking for about 30 minutes when I heard someone approaching me from behind.

_"Hello Hera,"_ a voice called out and I recognized the voice as Primus. I turned and saw him approaching.

"Hello Primus," I answered, pausing so he could catch up to me.

_"How are things going on Earth?"_

"Pretty well. We discovered that there was another team of Autobots a few miles away from the old base, and we decided to move to the new base. Right now, I am currently in surgery."

_"May I ask why?"_

"Bad knees. They were weak to begin with, and there was no telling when they would have gone out on me. I did not want that to happen on the battlefield."

_"Smart choice. Do you know why you are here?"_

"No sir, I do not."

_"I want you to meet the Original 13 Primes. They would like to meet you."_

I was stunned. _They want to meet me? I do not feel like I am worthy of such honor,_ I thought to myself.

_"Cat got your tongue?"_ Primus chuckled.

"I honestly don't know what to say… I'm at a loss for words."

We came to a small circle of Cybertronians, and each one was standing on a pedestal. I saw that there were three empty ones- two next to each other, and one off to the side.

_"Come, young Prime,"_ Primus stepped up on one pedestal. He gestured to the pedestal next to him. I walked up to the pedestal, and then stepped up onto it. I looked around, slightly nervous.

"Where is he?" one of the mechs asked.

_"He is almost here. Have a little bit of patience,"_ Primus chastened the mech. I heard someone step up onto the remaining pedestal. I looked, and my eyes widened in shock and surprise. It was Orion!

He looked around the circle, seeing who all was here. He looked at me for a fraction of a second, and then kept going on around the circle. He did a double take.

"Hera?" He asked, clearly surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing, Optimus," I replied.

"You two already know each other?" A femme asked.

"Yes," Orion answered.

_"For those who do not know who she is, this is Hera Prime,"_ Primus introduced me. One by one, the other Primes introduced themselves.

"Hera, is it true that you have a horse as your Guardian?" Solus Prime asked me.

"Yes. Not only is he my Guardian, he is also my brother."

"How is that possible?"

"We were turned into Cybertronians at the same time, so I suspect a sibling bond may have formed then."

"Wow. I never thought it would be possible, yet you are living proof that it is possible."

"Can you tell us more about your brother?" Megatronous Prime spoke up.

"Certainly. He is one of the most loyal horses you will ever find. In the few battles I have fought, he comes running if I request his aid. Doesn't matter where I am on the battlefield. He is becoming one of the most feared warriors the Decepticons have ever seen."

"How so?"

"He's undefeatable. Not even Megatron could scratch his armor. In fact, Megatron's blade broke the first time he attacked my brother. His name, Aniketos, means unconquerable."

"That's an interesting name. Wait a second, Megatron tried to attack Aniketos and his blade _broke_?" Nexus Prime sputtered, surprised at what I just said. I merely nodded my helm. "That's pretty unusual."

_"There is a legend I must bring up. It involves Unicron, the Chaos Bringer. When the 47 spheres align, a darkness will awaken,"_ Primus said grimly. _"I do not know when it will happen, but it is approaching."_

"I thought he was supposed to be in permanent stasis?" Megatronous questioned.

_"So did I. But it appears to not be that way,"_ Primus replied, voice filled with regret. _"We will continue this the next time we meet. Hera, Optimus, your time is running short. Soon you will have to return."_

"Until all are one," Optimus intoned, then he left the meeting.

"It was really nice meeting everyone. See y'all next time," I waved as I walked back in the direction I had come from. Everyone waved and called their good-byes. I felt myself fall back into a deep sleep again.

All I saw was darkness. Then I saw a bright light right in front of me. I groaned softly, raising my servo to shield my eyes from the bright light. As my eyes adjusted, I looked around. I saw that I was back in the Med Bay. Checking my internal clock, it was now 10:30 AM. I became aware of the throbbing pain in my knees.

"Ah, you're awake now," Ratchet commented. "How are you feeling?"

I scoffed. "Like someone shot my knees out then knocked me down and ran me over with a slagging bulldozer."

This made Ratchet chuckle a little bit. "Would you like some painkillers?" he asked as he picked up a shot.

"Yes please," I replied as I held out my servo for him. He quickly administered the painkillers. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." Suddenly he pulled out one of his many Wrenches O' Doom and threw it. "GET THE FRAG OUT OF MY MED BAY!" he roared.

"The Terror Twins again?" I asked, slightly amused.

"Nope. It was the other set."

"Ah, Dumb and Dumber."

"More like the Pit-Spawned. They never know when to quit fighting each other. I have to repair them almost daily."

"Doesn't Jolt and First Aid help you with them?"

"They're afraid of both sets of Twins. Anytime one of the Twins set foot in the Med Bay, Jolt and First Aid leave with no trace that they were ever in here."

"Wow. Didn't know both sets of Twins had that kind of reputation. All I know is that they both keep trying to flirt with me."

"Really?"

"Really. Last time either one of them tried to flirt with me, I just let Ketos use them for target practice."

"You're evil. I like that," Ratchet grinned at me, shaking his helm. "What are you going to do if they try again in the future?"

"Hmmm… I think I'll ask Ketos and Ironhide if they want to join me for a little hunting trip," I smirked evilly.

"Oh ha-ha-ha, that's one of the best ideas I've heard in many vorns. I think Ironhide will like that."

"I will like what?" Ironhide asked as he walked in, having heard the last bit Ratchet said.

"Oh, we were talking about what happened the last time either set of Twins tried to charm me and what I was planning on doing the next time they try," I replied.

"Ohh… I remember you let Ketos use them for target practice the last time, correct?" Ironhide smirked at me.

"Yep," I smirked back.

"And what are you planning for the next time?"

"Five words: You, me, Ketos, hunting trip." I grinned maliciously.

"The Twins going to be the 'prey'?"

"Oh yes…"

"Sounds like fun… Com me when they start messing with ya, and I'll gladly join in on the hunt." Ironhide grinned. Ironhide, Chromia, Ketos, and I are like brothers and sisters. We all love weapons, and I had discovered I had several spots for more weapons a few days after I arrived at the new base. I had heard that Ironhide was the main Weapons Specialist, so I decided to go pay him a visit. He helped me pick out and modify the weapons so they would pack more punch. Once, I was down on the range, shooting targets with my new weapons when Ketos came down to the range. He almost had to do a double take on me, shocked that I was now armed to the teeth with firepower. He asked me where I had gotten them from, then I pointed to Ironhide and Chromia, who just happened to be at the range too. Ketos chatted with them for a while, and then they left the range. The next day, I saw Ketos down at the range, and grinned when I saw all the new weapons he had. Ever since then, Ironhide and I have become really close friends.

"See ya later, lil sis!" Ironhide called out as he walked towards the doors.

"See ya later big bro!" I called back as he left the Med Bay.

"You two are something else. I feel so much better with four trigger-happy Cybertronians running amok on base," Ratchet commented, words laced heavily with sarcasm.

"At least I'm not as trigger-happy as Ironhide. Ketos is almost as bad, however…"

"Really? Ketos is nearly as bad as Ironhide?"

"Oh yes. I never thought my little brother would be one of those who prefer to 'shoot now, ask questions later'. It's a good thing when it comes to dealing with Decepticreeps, though."

"That's true. You're the only one out of the four that actually thinks before they start shooting slag up."

"That's because my dad taught me how to be safe with guns. I grew up around guns all my life. My dad would take me on many hunting trips," I smiled as I recalled the memories.

"Sounds like your father was really good to you."

"He was. Miss him a lot though."

We were silent for a while. That is, until Jazz burst into the Med bay dragging Dumb and Dumber along. I raised an eyebrow as I watched Jazz dump them unceremoniously onto a table next to me.

"What did they do now?" I asked Jazz.

"'Ah caught 'em fightin' again. 'Dey never learn. How are ya doin', lil lady?"

"Seen better days. How about ya?"

"Eh, been better m'self. Wha' did ya do now?"

"Bum knees. Just got new ones."

"Ow. Tha' gotta hurt."

"They don't hurt that bad right now. But yesterday, they were hurting me like the Pit."

"Well, 'ah gotta git goin' now. Hope ya feel better soon, lil lady," Jazz grinned as he started to leave.

"Thanks Jazz-man," I replied.

"'Ey there!" Dumb and Dumber cried. I looked at them and gave them the evilest glare I had in my arsenel.

"If either one of you glitches have any common sense in those slagged-up processors," I snarled as I onlined my cannon, the cannon whirring loudly as it charged up. "You will leave me the frag alone while you're in here. If you try to make any, and I mean _any_, moves on me, I will personally blast your arms and legs off and leave you like that for a long time."

"And I won't put you two back together after she does that," Ratchet adds, shaking a wrench at them. They both whimper and nod their helms rapidly.

"Good," I grunted as I powered down my cannon. I decided to leave it out on purpose to remind the twins to leave me alone. Just then, I get a ping on my private comm link from Orion.

:Are you awake?: Orion asked.

:Yes I am.:

:Are Mudflap and Skidz in the Med Bay? Jazz told me they just got into a fight with each other.:

:Yep, they are.:

:Good. Are they causing you any trouble?:

:I don't think they will. I scared them pretty good.: I said rather smugly.

:Hmm. What did you say to them?: He asked, slightly amused.

:Let's just say it involved the evilest glare I have in my arsenel, my cannon, something about losing limbs, and Ratchet not putting them back together.:

He laughed out loud over the comm link. :You and your cannons. If that ever happens, I want a video of it.:

I had to slap my hand over my mouth to keep from laughing out loud. :I'll make sure to get you that video if that ever happens. Oh dear, Ratchet's looking at me like I'm half crazy or something. Uh… scrap.: I ducked as a wrench zoomed over my helm, barely grazing the top.

:Ratchet throw a Wrench O' Doom at you?:

:You got that right. He missed though. Either I'm too fast for him, or he's starting to peter out from old age.: I quipped.

:Oh Primus! That was hilarous!: Orion howled with laughter. :I'll come by and visit in a little bit, so see ya in a few minutes.:

:See ya in a few.: I cut the comm link. Ratchet was looking at me, eyes narrowed.

"Um…" I trailed off.

"What was so slagging funny?" he sneered.

"Nothing. I was having a private conversation on my comm link," I replied innocently.

"Ooooo… Me think she waz chattin' with somebot she likes!" Mudflap taunted me rudely. I snap my helm around and charged my cannon, glaring at him. He yipped and cowered behind Skidz.

"**Don't. Say. A. Slagging. Thing. To. Me.**" I growled in the deepest, menancing voice I had in my vocal processors. Ratchet backed up, eyes wide with fear. Orion had walked in just as I started talking. He froze on the spot, not moving a single inch. His hand started to shake ever so slightly, the only indicator that he was scared. Ketos walked into the Med Bay and nearly ran into the back of Orion. Ketos looked at the scene before him, and realized that I was on the verge of going ballistics.

_**Hey! Take a chill pill, dude. What did they do? **_Ketos asked through the bond. _**I told those two Pit-Spawned motherfraggers to leave me alone while they were here, and they decided to tease me,**_ I replied curtly through the bond, sending anger back. _**Calm down, I'm pretty sure they won't be messing with ya now,**_ he sent back along with a big wave of calmness and relaxation. I took a deep vent and deactivated my cannon.

_**Now, what did they tease you about?**_ Ketos asked, sending more calmness and relaxation.

_**I was talking to Optimus on the comlink earlier, and we were both laughing about something really funny. Ratchet threw a wrench at me, and I managed to barely dodge it. I said that either I am too fast for him, or he's starting to peter out from old age,**_ I reply, sending humor and amusement through the bond.

_**Oh my goodness! That's pretty funny,**_ Ketos laughed out loud, and I felt his amusement fill the bond. I just grinned at him.

"You're crazy! How can you go from near-rage to grinning in so short of time?" Ratchet exclaimed.

"I have a programming that I call the Red Zone. What happens is if I get hurt on purpose by someone, I get _very, very, __very_ enraged. I don't really know what happens or what I do while the program is running, but I see the aftermath. The program has never activated fully, but it has come very close once or twice. I do get partial activation, which is what you just witnessed. Ketos is the only one who can get through to me and help me deactivate the programming," I explained quietly. "Normally, the Red Zone shouldn't have activated at all, but I guess one or two procotols got activated on accident when Ratchet threw his wrench at me, and the wrench barely grazed the top of my helm. Plus, the twins teasing me did not help things at all."

Ratchet looked at me with a somber expression. He hadn't known about the Red Zone. I sighed and just stared at the foot of the hospital bed.

"I had no idea you had that kind of programming. I'm sorry for throwing the wrench at you. Oh, and when you glared at the twins, I could see that there were dark maroon rings around your optics," he said.

I just nodded my helm, indicating that I had heard him. I felt so bad for what happened. I hadn't meant for that to happen at all. A hand rested on my shoulder, and I could see that it was Orion's from the edge of my vision.

"It wasn't your fault. The twins shouldn't have aggravated things further," he spoke softly.

"But what if Ketos didn't walk in when he did? What would have happened? That's what I'm scared about. I don't want to hurt anyone on accident," I replied softly, looking up at him. Ratchet saw that Orion and I seemed to want some time alone, so he wheeled the twins into another wing of the Med Bay, asking Ketos to come along with him.

"Shh. Don't think of what would have happened. It's over," Orion murmured as he hugged me. I hugged him back, glad for the contact. We just stayed like that for a few minutes, not wanting to let go of each other. Reculantly, we let go of each other.

"How long will you have to stay in Med Bay?" he asked as he took my hand into his.

"About two more days. Then I'll be in a wheelchair for two weeks. Not sure how long it will be before I'm cleared for duty again."

"All right. I have to go back to work, okay?"

"Okay," I nodded my helm. Before I could realize what he was doing, he leaned over and kissed me gently on my cheek.

"I'll stop by later," he murmured. I let go of his hand, and watched him as he walked out of the Med Bay. I blinked my eyes a few times, and then put my hand over where he had kissed me and smiled softly.

* * *

**Well, that's Chapter 4, folks! Again, I'm SO SORRY about the delay. Going to try to update more often. Oh, and I now have a Deviant Art account. Check it out: Just copy and paste the link into your browser.**

**Until next time, this is JML Ranch transforming and rolling out!**


End file.
